"But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, 'Go and sit down to meat?' And will not rather say unto him, 'Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?'

"Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

"So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.'"

2 Thessalonians 2:10b-12 King James Version... because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved... God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: THAT THEY ALL MIGHT BE DAMNED who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Rev. Dr. Finis Jennings Dake wrote:
Notes For Verse 7a [But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him?] Questions 110-112. Next, Lk. 17:17. The 38th parable in Luke (Lk. 17:7-10), illustrating all that we can do as servants of God is merely a common duty of man. We merit nothing and should not expect thanks, grace, mercy, or answered prayer because of what we do. Next, Lk. 18:1.

Notes For Verse 9a [trow] An archaic English word meaning to think or suppose.

Notes For Verse 10a [So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do] This is the point illustrated by the parable of Lk. 17:7-9. We are under obligation to serve God without earning merit or blessing. All God ever asked is our consecration to the best good of all which automatically betters our own selves. Shall we thank ourselves for bettering our own selves? Such service is returned to us in many ways. If we do things for self-praise, we manifest extreme selfishness and we already have our reward (Mt. 6:1-6; Jn. 12:43).

2 Thessalonians 2:10b-12 King James Version... because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved... God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: THAT THEY ALL MIGHT BE DAMNED who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.